I’ve Got Plenty To Be Thankful For is an Irvin Berlin classic. He wrote the son for the 1942 film “Holiday Inn“. The movie stared Bing Crosby, whose version of this song is best known. In the film, Crosby’s character, Jim, is depressed and lonely after losing his sweetheart. Asked to write a song for Read More
Tag: Bing Crosby
Behind the Song: White Christmas
White Christmas is the most popular Christmas song of all time. The Irving Berlin song is reminiscing about an “old fashioned Christmas.” Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. He often stayed up all night writing or would ask his secretary to write down what he dictated. Both La Quinta Hotel Read More
Behind the Song: Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep
Count Your Blessings {Instead of Sheep} was the last hit for the popular composer Irving Berlin. The song was written sometime around 1952. Irving Berlin tells the story best: In the book The Irving Berlin Reader, a letter from Irving Berlin to Joseph Schenck and dated September 1952 includes the following information about the writing Read More
Frank Sinatra—The Early Years
Frank Sinatra was the biggest star of his day. He suffered numerous ups and downs throughout his career. Yet, how did it all begin? Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915. From all accounts his birth was extremely traumatic and he almost did not survive. He had a scar on his left ear, Read More
Bing Crosby, the Original Crooner
Bing Crosby mesmerized all of us with his soothing voice. The famous crooner was born Harry Lillis Crosby on May 3, 1902, in Tacoma, Washington. He was the fourth of seven children of bookkeeper, Harry Lincoln Crosby. Little Harry was a fan of “The Bingville Bugle” a Sunday feature of the local newspaper. A neighborhood Read More
Easter Parade
With Easter closely approaching, I thought we’d take a look at some Easter songs. The song, Easter Parade, was introduced in the 1933 musical, As Thousands Cheer. In the musical, this song was sung by Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb. Irving Berlin wrote the song for the musical, As Thousands Cheer. The melody was written Read More